Lottie W
Mar 127 min
The average doctor in the UK is estimated to earn between £41,300 and £143,100. This value will be affected by the level of training of the doctor, the number of unsociable hours worked, and the doctor’s job role. Read on to find out more about this.
With junior doctors in England embarking on industrial action throughout 2023 - 2024, a current hot topic in the news and government is “How much do doctors actually earn?”.
A topic filled with complexity and misunderstanding, in this article, we’ll break down exactly how much junior doctors and consultants currently earn in the UK, and how this changes throughout their careers.
We will also briefly discuss how the NHS pay deal in 2023 affects doctor’s salaries, and the average debt associated with studying to become a doctor.
👉🏻 Read more: Medicine NHS Hot Topics
Doctors in the UK make different amounts of money per year based on their level of training following graduation from medical school.
FY1 - An FY1 doctor is expected to earn approximately £41,300 a year
FY2 - An FY2 doctor is expected to earn approximately £48,800 a year
Registrar - A specialist doctor is likely to earn between £62,300 to £71,300 a year
Consultant - A consultant is expected to earn approximately £143,000 a year
General Practitioners - A GP is expected to earn approximately £101,300 a year, with higher salaries for GP partners.
👉🏻 Read more: How Much Do Vets Earn In The UK?
A junior doctor is a qualified medical professional, having completed between 4 - 6 years of medical school, potentially following a prior undergraduate degree.
It is often misinterpreted that “junior doctor” refers to medical students in their university training, however, this is not correct. Junior doctors have graduated from medical school, and are in their postgraduate training, whilst working full time as a doctor.
The term 'junior doctor' describes any doctor who is on the path to becoming a consultant or a GP but hasn't reached that level yet.
There are several categories of junior doctor based on their experience and seniority:
Foundation Year 1/2 Doctors (FY1/FY2): These are doctors in their initial two years after graduating from medical school, rotating through different specialities every four months each year.
GP Specialist Trainees (GPSTs): After completing their foundation years, GPSTs undergo a three-year specialized training program, rotating through specialities pertinent to general practice before becoming fully qualified GPs.
Core Medical/Surgical Trainees: These individuals are in the early stage of specialized training, focusing initially on a broad medical or surgical foundation before narrowing down to a specific field.
Specialist Trainees: Doctors in this group are either in the latter stages of specialised training or engaged in a continuous training program that spans from the post-FY2 stage to becoming a consultant.
Other Paths: There are also more complex routes, including positions like FY3/4/5, and clinical fellows, among others, indicating the diverse career paths within medicine.
Foundation doctors in the UK earn between £32,397 to £37,303 relative to their experience.
Following 4, 5 or 6 years at medical school, a first-year doctor - known as an FY1 doctor, will receive a basic salary of £32,397 in 2023/2024. This equates to £15.52 per hour. This is after the July 2023 pay deal, seeing doctors in England receiving a 6% pay rise, with a one-off payment of £1250.
When the doctor completes their FY1 year, they will become an FY2 doctor.
An FY2 doctor has an increased basic salary of £37,303.
In 2023, there were a number of strikes by junior doctors in regards to pay and working conditions in the NHS.
👉🏻 Read more: Junior Doctor Contract Issues in the UK
A registrar doctor in England will earn between £43,923 to £63,152.
Following their foundation years, a junior doctor will then enter speciality or core training years, where they are known as a registrar doctor.
As a registrar, a doctor’s salary no longer increases yearly, but rather at different “nodal points” of training.
The following diagram summarises the average salary of a doctor in the UK.
The basic salary of a consultant in 2023/2024 ranges between £93,666 - £126,281.
A consultant in the NHS is a highly specialised doctor, with an average of 8 - 10 years of postgraduate training.
The 2023 NHS pay deal also saw consultants be awarded a 6% pay rise.
This salary can increase over time depending on years in service and working more evenings and weekends. It can also increase with Local Clinical Excellence Awards (LCEAs), which can range from £3,016 to £36,192.
Consultants may also enhance their take-home pay through private practice outside the NHS.
Consultants are also currently in dispute with the UK government over pay.
The average salary for a salaried GP ranges between £68,974 and £104,086, whilst a GP partner will earn more.
A GP is a consultant-level doctor in the UK, with a minimum of 5 years post-graduate training.
The salary of a GP will depend on how they are employed. Most GPs are employed by the GP practice as a “salaried GP”. The average salary for a salaried GP ranges between £68,974 and £104,086.
This depends on how many days they work a week - this is usually split into a sessions, typically, a morning session and an afternoon session. The average salary of a salaried GP is £9500-£11500 per session.
A GP who takes on the responsibility of the GP practice as a business owner, known as a GP partner, will have the potential to earn more. Many GP Partners earn more than £140000 a year - though this depends on how many days they work a week.
👉🏻 Read more: NHS Medical Apprenticeship Programme
There are a number of pay enhancements that doctors receive which increase their take home pay.
The above figures indicate the basic salary of a UK doctor. However, the take-home pay by doctors will vary based on pay enhancements which will be individual to each doctor’s rota.
Doctors receive a weekend allowance based on their point in training and the frequency of weekends worked.
This is paid as a percentage of their full-time basic salary and ranges from 3% to 15%.
Doctors working fewer than 1 in 8 weekends will not receive any allowance.
Doctors who are rostered to work in an on-call capacity will receive an allowance for this. This allowance again is determined by the level of seniority of the doctor.
Doctors training in programmes which are typically hard to fill will receive a salary uplift.
These premiums range from £2900 to almost £10,000 annually.
There are criteria that the doctor will have to meet to be eligible for this.
NHS staff are entitled to a pay uplift of up to 20% if they work in central London. This can amount to around £2000 - £3000 for a FY1 doctor.
The average salary for a locum doctor in England is £61,322.
Doctors may be able to enhance their salary through “locuming”, where they fill in empty rota gaps at an enhanced rate outside of their currently rostered working hours.
The pay for a locum doctor varies with experience level, however, foundation-level doctors are recommended by the BMA to charge between £30 - 50 as an hourly locum rate.
In 2021, it was estimated that the average medical student graduates with between £70,000 - £90,000 student loan debt.
This is significantly larger than students in other degrees due to the length of the medical degree, charged at £9,250 per year.
If the student graduated after 2012, this is repaid at 9% of the doctor’s salary over £27,295.
👉🏻 Read more: How Much Does It Cost To Become A Doctor In The UK?
There are several factors which will determine a doctor’s take-home pay, ranging from the number of hours worked, the unsociability of the doctor’s rota, as well as hidden costs such as hospital parking permits.
The table below highlights an estimated monthly take-home pay for doctors in training and in consultant positions:
Medical students in the UK do not get paid for completing their training and attending hospital training. To learn more about the cost of becoming a doctor in the UK and university tuition fees, check out our guide.
👉🏻 Read more: BMA Junior Doctor Strikes in the UK
In 2023/2024, a first-year doctor (FY1) in the NHS starts with a basic salary of £32,397, following the recent 6% pay rise agreement.
A doctor's salary in the UK increases from FY1 to FY2, with an FY2 doctor earning a basic salary of £37,303 before entering speciality or core training years. This is based on pay scales from 2016.
NHS consultants have a basic salary range between £93,666 and £126,281 in 2023/2024, with ongoing disputes over pay. Many consultants also work in private practice to gain additional take-home pay.
Weekend allowances for doctors are based on the frequency of weekends worked, paid as a percentage of their basic salary, ranging from 3% to 15%.
Locum work involves doctors filling in temporary gaps in hospital rotas at enhanced rates, with recommended hourly locum rates for foundation-level doctors between £30 and £50.
Medical students graduating after 2012 can face an average student loan debt between £70,000 and £90,000, repaid at 9% of their salary over £27,295.
Doctors in hard-to-fill training programmes receive salary uplifts ranging from £2,900 to almost £10,000 annually, subject to meeting specific criteria.
NHS staff working in central London are entitled to a pay uplift of up to 20%, translating to approximately £2,000 to £3,000 extra for an FY1 doctor.
Estimated monthly take-home pay ranges from £2,171 for FY1 doctors to £3,806 for ST6-8 doctors, varying with training stage and work conditions.
On-call allowances are determined by the doctor's level of seniority and the specific demands of their on-call duties within their rota.